Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.

Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.

"Man wants but little here below
Nor wants that little long,"
'Tis not with me exactly so;
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"Man wants but little here below
Nor wants that little long,"
'Tis not with me exactly so;
But 'tis so in the song.
My wants are many, and, if told,
Would muster many a score;
And were each wish a mint of gold,
I still should long for more.

Wert thou all that I wish thee, great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem read more

Wert thou all that I wish thee, great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem of the sea.

What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in
abundance.
[Ger., Was man in read more

What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in
abundance.
[Ger., Was man in der Jugend wunscht, hat man im Alter die
Fulle.]

Little I ask; my wants are few;
I only wish a hut of stone
(A very plain read more

Little I ask; my wants are few;
I only wish a hut of stone
(A very plain brown stone will do),
That I may call my own;
And close at hand is such a one
In yonder street that fronts the sun.

He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
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He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
Meets the same welcome; yet he still calls on;
Till one calls him, who varies not his call,
But holds him fast, in chains of darkness bound,
Till Nature dies, and judgment sets him free;
A freedom far less welcome than this chain.

Every wish
Is like a prayer--with God.

Every wish
Is like a prayer--with God.

He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted

He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted

If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a read more

If I live to grow old, as I find I go down,
Let this be my fate in a country town;
May I have a warm house, with a stone at my gate,
And a cleanly young girl to rub my bald pate.
May I govern my passions with an absolute sway,
Grow wiser and better as my strength wears away,
Without gout or stone, by a gentle decay.
- Walter Pope, The Old Man's Wish,